So, I've been dealing with a myriad of low-grade health annoyances this year, mostly depression and anxiety but also some physical stuff like increased heart rate, increased sensitivity to caffeine and sugar, stomachaches, weight gain, and fatigue. The fatigue is by far the worst of these - I am so damn tired all the time for no apparent reason. I don't have a physically demanding job, and I've tried sleeping more, sleeping less, exercising more, exercising less, eating more or less protein/sugar/fats/whatever, taking vitamins, voodoo curses, etc. Nothing seems to help, so I'm finally dragging my butt to the doctor tomorrow to demand he tests me for whatever could be causing this. So far I'm thinking some kind of deficiency, or possibly thyroid problems. So, hivemind of the PPK, my questions to you - am I missing anything really obvious here? Anyone else had unexplained fatigue that they were able to figure out?

Part of the reason I've waited so long to deal with this was the depression - I thought the depression was causing the fatigue so I focused on fixing the that with the assumption that once I did, I wouldn't be so tired. But now I've started to improve on that front and still am not feeling much better, so I'm wondering if maybe I had it ass-backwards and whatever's making me tired was also making me depressed? (And then of course the two would just feed off each other in some hyper-dysfunctional symbiotic relationship).

It's so frustrating because I used to have tons of energy, had no problem getting up early to go to yoga or go running, always wanted to be doing things. Now it feels like just getting out of bed and showering is a chore. I miss the old me.

_________________She eats a paleo diet, just like the whiskey-and-bacon-eating australopithecans before her. - annak

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 5:36 pmPosts: 1693Location: the land of too much wine and wind

It's really good that you're going to the doctor! Hopefully, your doctor will know what tests to run for vegans, but some of the main ones are vitamin D, calcium, B12, and iron. If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, vitamin D is the most likely suspect this time of year. Ginny Messina and Jack Norris are two of the most reliable resources for vegan nutrition. You don't have time to read their book Vegan for Life by tomorrow, but poking around their blogs can give you lots of great information and resources.

_________________I just brought out the carrot sticks. This is war. - paprikapapaya

This is just a handful of things I was tested for, I didn't include a few that were more to do with pain. And I know I forgot some. These were done between my family doc, rheumatologist and "integrative" doctor. The food testing was interesting, the only thing I showed any problems with was bananas, and that was mild. At the time I was eating at least one banana a day. I stopped and my cognitive function and severe grogginess did improve. Now if I have one I sometimes have weird reactions, and other times I don't seem to notice a difference. But I do avoid them unless I am desperate.

My first thought is vitamin D deficiency. It can cause both fatigue and depression, and is pretty common, depending on where you live. And standard, over-the-counter supplements are rarely strong enough to combat deficiency once it dips below a certain level.

But yeah, definitely have your doctor check a variety of possible culprits. I hope you get to the bottom of this!

_________________I ate the shiitake out of inappropriateness. - Hollie

Thanks for the input everyone. Vitamin D wasn't really near the top of my list of possible culprits for some reason, so I'm glad to have that pointed out. The sleep apnea thing is an interesting thought - I don't have it that I know of, but my husband always falls asleep before I do so I don't really have any way of knowing, I guess.

I appreciate the replies! Hopefully my doc can help me figure this out.

_________________She eats a paleo diet, just like the whiskey-and-bacon-eating australopithecans before her. - annak

I'm interested in seeing how what you find, and am sorry for what you're experiencing.

I'm pretty much experiencing the exact same symptoms, which to be honest, are kinda generalised and hard to track down. The only thing I'd add is dry eyes and a general sense of frustration, but I've had this for a long time now. Good luck.

Have you been tested for celiac or gluten intolerance? It can cause vitamin deficiencies because it inhibits the absorption of vitamins in your digestive system. Tiredness and brain fog are two common symptoms as well.

I've been feeling somewhat similar for about a month. In an attempt to combat it I've cut out gluten and sugar, increased my protein intake and am taking a daily multivitamin with iron and a B vitamin complex. I have muscle aches, migraines, palpitations, IBS, brain fog and ridiculous fatigue. I used to get up at 5.30am to work out but now on most days I struggle to get out of bed before 7am. Sometimes, like today, I come home from work and go straight to bed.

8ball, those symptoms sound very celiac-like. You might want to go get tested before you cut gluten completely, if an official diagnosis would be important to you or if you think you might ever want or need it...also check for sneaky gluten. Certain soaps/hand sanitizers, herbal teas with barley malt, certain coffee flavoring syrups, spice blends with wheat as an anti-caking agent, shared pans/utensils/colanders were all things that took some work for me to eliminate because I either didn't realize they contained gluten (in the case of the food products) or thought they could be cleaned (in the case of the utensils). Some can be cleaned, but I had to replace my pasta pot and colander, my bamboo spoons, and my muffin and loaf pans. I use foil on my cookie sheets now in the meantime because I haven't replaced them yet.

A lot of people don't see results immediately after cutting gluten because it takes time for your gut to heal and there is often sneaky gluten as well.

That said, it also sounds like overtraining. Those are pretty much all classic symptoms.

_________________These shitbirds should pay for their own elections if they aren't going to be obligated by any democratic pretense. - MumblesDon't you know that vegan meat is the gateway drug to chicken addiction? Because GMO and trans-fats. - kaerlighed

8ball, with symptoms like that, I'd ask to get tested for Crohn's disease as well as celiac, as people suggested above. The symptoms for both are pretty similar, and before I got diagnosed with Crohn's last year I was getting stomach aches, other bad tummy stuff, really nasty joint and muscle pain, as well as severe fatigue (like, I had to nap for about 2 hours every afternoon, and I had never been one to nap ever). Not saying that you're definitely that sick, but worth checking out for sure.

I am going to see a doctor, it feels like it's a little bit more than something I can fix with a few days off work.

Can over training symptoms crop up even if you've cut your training right down? I've only trained once in the last two weeks.

From my understanding, it's more of a long-term accumulation that causes the symptoms of overtraining, and it can require a couple weeks of rest to recover. How long have you been feeling like this? If you just started feeling this way in the last week or so, then my feeling is it's probably not overtraining, but if it started while you were still training a lot and is continuing, then that could definitely be the culprit.

I hope you feel better soon, and that the doctor can figure out what's going on!

_________________These shitbirds should pay for their own elections if they aren't going to be obligated by any democratic pretense. - MumblesDon't you know that vegan meat is the gateway drug to chicken addiction? Because GMO and trans-fats. - kaerlighed

It actually was the depression. I was definitely in denial about how bad it still was. I realized that when I got to the doctor's and then immediately started crying and couldn't stop just from talking about being tired. He did test me for a bunch of deficiencies, thyroid function and so on (which all came back just fine), but also gently suggested that I should really go back to see my therapist again. I did that, and realized that I finally needed to give antidepressants a try. I've been on Pristiq for the past few months now and it's amazing how much it's helping. My energy isn't 100% back to where it used to be, but I'm putting that down to the fact that I got so out of shape while I was basically sedentary. I'm getting back into running and signed up for swimming lessons, and it no longer takes all my energy just to get out of bed.

It's funny, I was so afraid of going on antidepressants that I actually WANTED there to be something "physically" wrong with me because it seemed like it would be easier to deal with. What I didn't realize was that really, it was physical - my brain just wasn't producing the right chemicals in the right quantities. Now it is, and things are much better.

Thanks for asking!

_________________She eats a paleo diet, just like the whiskey-and-bacon-eating australopithecans before her. - annak

Hello, sorry to barge into here but I have many similar symptoms and am off to GP today to discuss again. I have had Ulcerative Colitis for many years now and for 3 years have had many flare ups. These make me tired and fed up BUT this last few months have been really something new and all of my symptoms seem to fit with ME. My doc has done blood tests to rule out anything else lurking and it seems maybe I am cursed with UC and ME together.

I've had tests for thyroid function, anaemia, liver and kidney function, diabetes and am just about to be tested for B12, folate and antibody levels. I'm going to have my thyroid screened again in 6 months as my free T3 level was only just above the low end of the scale, however if all my tests are clear ME may be considered. Over the last two days I've had the most severe fatigue I've ever experienced.

How did you get on missbearface? I've had tests for thyroid function, anaemia, liver and kidney function, diabetes and am just about to be tested for B12, folate and antibody levels. I'm going to have my thyroid screened again in 6 months as my free T3 level was only just above the low end of the scale, however if all my tests are clear ME may be considered. Over the last two days I've had the most severe fatigue I've ever experienced.

Have they tested you for Vit D? I was having trouble lifting my head up off the table & I had to stop all exercise for about 4 weeks. I went to the doctors had all my levels checked & everything was good except vit d which was very low. I've been taking vitashine Vit D3 5000 tablets & I now feel like a different person. I'm back to how I was. I can't believe the difference so that is definitely worth having checked.